When data faces reality

The employment reality is grimmer than what the household survey data tell us. This is true for Chhattisgarh as much as it is for Uttar Pradesh. And, also for other states

A Member of the Legislative Assembly of Chhattisgarh called recently asking me to clarify on an apparent contradiction in what CMIE’s unemployment data tell and the reality he saw in his state. According to CMIE’s Consumer Pyramids Household Survey (CPHS) data, the unemployment rate in Chhattisgarh was less than a per cent. But, he saw hundreds of thousands of people applying for just few jobs in the state. The latter, the MLA argued quite reasonably, should be a reflection of high unemployment but CMIE says that Chhattisgarh had negligible unemployment. How could both be true, he wondered. 

That same reality was